Refrigerating apparatus



April 7, 1936. a F. HOFFERBERTH 3 REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 51, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet l f 45 5 I 57 gwwzntoz -56 April 7, 1936. G. F. HOFFERBERTH 2, ,753

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 31, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 3 Shee tS-Sheet 5 6430: new

G. F. HOFFERBERTH REFRIGERATING A'PEARATUS Filed Jan. 51, 1928 4 l I I I l i 1 April 7, 1936.

by'mesne assicnts, to General Motors a corporation oi Uelawore v poration,

Cor-

Application Jon n, rear, scan a. asters s invention relates to refrigerators and more particularly to rcirigerator cabinets.

An object ofthis invention is to provide a cabinot made ofv self-sustaining sheet metal.

. other object of this invention is to provide a ire-less refrigerator cabinet. Y

Another object of this invention is to provide a refrigerator having hermetically sealed insula- Another object of this invention is to provide a refrigerator withinsulation in sheet form.

Another object or this invention is to provide a refrigerator adapted to have its sheet metal rts assembled with self-tapping screws.

Another object or this invention is to provide a cabinet, the outer shell of which may be formed by stpins', punching and bending operations.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accom panyine; drawings, wherein a preferred for of the present invention is clearly she.

in the drawings:

Fig. i is a perspective view oi a refrigerator eming my invention;

idle. 2 is a transverse vertical cross-section oi the some;

his. 3 is a horizontal cross-section alone the line i-i of Fig. 2; a 4

his. t is an enlarged detailed cross-sectional view of a corner and mrt oi the back oi the cabinet;

Idle. 5 is an enlarged detailed view the front of the cabine File. 6 loan elevation of a blank oi sheet metal partly stamped and punched;

his. 7 is a cross-sectional view along the line l-l of Fit. 6;

his. 8 is an elevationoi the blank. shown in File. l3 with a further stamping thereon;

Fig. 9 is a cross-section on the line 9--9 of his. d;

Fie. ill is a top elevation of the blank after the stamping operations have been completed and after it has been bent to form the sides of the cabinet, and

Fig. 11 is a vertical cross sectional view of a portion of the cabinet taken along the line I l! l of Fig. 3 showing details of construction oi the bottom wall of the food compartment.

Features cabinet illustrated in the drawings, and generally designated as 20. This cabinet, by way of illustration, has an outside shell generally designated as it, an inner lining generally designated of part of blank may be iurther developed by ben 1 110.2

of my invention are embodied in a e a: rm (El. END-9) punched therein and, ii desired, a flange it y also be formed ina press around the opening iii. Beneath the opening it a. panel ii may be pressed in the blank W for ornamentation and reinforcement. The proper holes it and so for 1 reception of attaching devicessuch as screws or bolts y also be punched in the blanlr. As shown in Figs. 8 and 9 the blank may be further formed by .puncil'iino a panel dd near one end of the blank and a flange ii at the end oi the blanlr. A further punching operation would .form a similar panel id and flange ill at the other end of the bl. .The operation would be identical with the one described relative to Figs. 7 and d, and the results of this operation have not been shown in these figures, in order to illustrate more clearly the sequence of steps in developing the bionicv As shown in Fig. 10 the at it and ii in order to to a boa-like struct which forms the front and side-walls oi the outer shell ii. The exterior surface of shell ill y be painted with any suitable paint or lacquer or it ay have a vitreous enamel baked thereon to provide ed exterior walls for the cabinet it.

The outer shell it may be completed by attach ins" to the blank ill a rear wall dd provided with an offset ii at each edge; Any suitable attaching means may be used as for example, selftappins screws ti may be driven into the proper holes provided therefor. It is to be understo that screws ti are to be oi such length as to traversethe thickness of the metal walls or shells to be secured together onlyuancl that they will not puncture or protrude into the hermetically sealed chamber to be hereinafter more iully described. The re'ar wall (to may be asheet metal plate, and it may, ex mi from the top of the cabinet down to the edge 43 shown in Fig. 2. This leaves the cabinet with an opening, in the rear of the lower compartment M in order to provide air circulation for cooling refrigerating machinery placed in the compartment A ceiling for the compartment 44 may be provided. For this purpose, a sheet metal plate to,

and. the insulation may then be inserted in v having reinforcing flanges 46 along the side edges, may be secured to the bottom member of the door jamb 24 by any means, such as nails or screws ll. The rear edge of the plate 15 may be slipped under the bottom edge 43 of the rear wall before the plate is attached to the door jamb. For this purpose the bottom edge d3 of the back 40 may be in the form of a forwardly directed flange adapted to receive and support the plate 45.

The inner lining 22 may comprise an enameled sheet metal box having side walls till and bi, rear wall 52, bottom and top Fa l. The inner lining 22 may also be provided with flange 555 along the opening thereof.

The door jamb i l may comprise a rectangular wooden frame and the lining 22 may be attached to said door jamb by means of screws passing through the flange After the lining 22 has been attached to the door jamb it, a seal of hydrolene, shown at ill, may be poured along the joint of the lining or the door jamb i l in order to provide a hermetic seal at this joint.

Preferably, after the lining 22 has been attached to the door jamb 2 1, the insulation 23 may be applied to the lining. Insulation used in this cabinet may be made in sheet form. A long rectangular sheet 56* may be wrapped around the sides and bottom and top 50, and the ends of the sheet to may be brought together at St at the top of the lining. The ends of the sheet may be fastened toge her by gummed strips of paper placed along the top of the insula' tion. rear edges of sheet Gd may extend back beyond the rear wall 52 of the lining. rectangular sheet 63 of insulation may be placed on the hacl; or? the lining all within the edges of the sheet and the corner of the insulation thus formed between the sheet 6d and the sheet 63 may be fastened by gummed strips of paper As an example of the type of insulation may be used. I may use balsam wool. which is an insulation formed with two outer coverings and an intermediate layer of insulating material. [liter the insulation has been placed on the lining as hereinbefore described, a bag, shell or cover member of waterproof material, such paper having a fusible waterproof compound impregnated therein, may be placed over the insulation and the edges of the bag may surround the door jamb The bag, shell or cover member B5 forms the outer wall of a hermetrically sealed chamber which houses the insulation The edges of the bag 65 surround ing the door amb 2G may be heated by any suitable means, and the waterproof material of the paper is thereby caused to adhere to the door jamh 2d and to form a hermetic seal at this point. lit is seen that the insulation is thus hermetically sealed by the lining 22 and the bag 65. both of which are hermetically connected with the door jamb E l. A unit insertable in and removable from the cabinet is produced which comprises a door jamb, food compartment lining and hermetically sealed insulation on said lining.

The l iing 22; together with the door jamb outer all i, and the door jain'n secured to the outer shell by means The lining with its assembled ins inserted either the top 0' through the rear before the bash. att shed to the blank (it).

.h pedestal assemily 2S made in accepts any desired manner and is shown as a rectangular base Ell, to which legs 28 are attached to the corners. The base 2'! and legs 28 may be seecured to the outer shell 2| by bolts 10 passing through the said members. The bolts l0 thus secure the outer shell to the base 2i, and the base Zl to the legs 28. A top cover H may be placed over the shell 2i and this cover may also be secured as by screws "E2. The 'door it may be hinged to the cabinet in any desired manner and the support l3, which slides in a slot l l, may be provided to support the door in its open position.

It is seen that the outer shell 2!! is made of self-sustaining sheet metal and that no framework is necessary to hold the cabinet in shape. The side paneling 3i and 33 aids in making the outer shell 2i self-sustaining, for providing a supporting structure for the compartment and the hermetically sealed chamber surrounding the same, by forming offsets at the corners oi the cabinet.

The cabinet may have any refrigerating means installed therein. If it is tobe used for mechanical refrigeration, the mechanical part of the system may be installed in compartment 6 1, and the cooling element may be placed within the lining preferably adjacent-one oi the upper corners thereof. If the system. of the compressor, air-cooled condenser type, the compressor with its prime mover, and the condenser may be mounted on the pedestal assembly 2i within the compartment l l'ancl the air may circulate through the opening in the rear of the cabinet and through the opening in the pedestal assembly. Refrigerant pipes may connect the part of the system in compartment M with the part of the system in the lining While the form of embodiment oi the invention as herein disclosed constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

i. A refrigerator having an inner liner with. side, top, bottom, and rear sheet of insu lating material of a substantial thiclzn and low structural strength of sufficient length to extend completely around the sides, top, and bottom of the inner liner, said sheet extending completely around the side, top, and bottom walls of the inner liner and having its ends meeting, a sheet of insulating material extending over the r a wall, and metallic outer finish walls surrounf'ng the inner liner in abutting relation to the insulating material and serving the supporting frame structure of the refrigerator.

2. A. refrigerator having an inner liner with side, top, bottom, and rear walls, a sheet 0:2 insulating material of a substantial thickness and low structural strength or sufficient length to extend completely around the sides, top. and bottom of the inner liner, said sheet extending completely around the side, to and bottom walls oi the inner liner and having its ends meeting, a or insulating material extend g the liner and insulating material and forming as well the outer finish walls for the cabinet, said means comprising a substantially tubular sheet metal structure having an opening in one side thereof adapted to register with said compartment access opening and including a one-piece sheet of material formed into an element extending continuously across the side of the cabinet having the access opening therein and continuously along the two adjacent sides of the cabinet and having its ends connected at the side of the cabinet opposite the access opening.

4. A refrigerator cabinet comprising, an inner liner forming a refrigerating compartment within said cabinet and having an access opening disposed at the front of the cabinet, insulating material surrounding said inner liner, means forming a supporting structure for the liner and insulating material and forming as wellthe outer finish walls for the cabinet, said means comprising a substantially tubular sheet metal structure having an opening in the front thereof adapted to register with said compartment access opening, and said means including a single sheet portion of material formed into an element extending around both front corners of the cabinet and extending continuously across the front of the cabinet and continuously along the two sides of the cabinet and having its ends connected at the rear of the cabinet.

5. A refrigerator cabinet comprising, an inner liner forming a refrigerating compartment within said cabinet and having an access opening disposed at the front of the cabinet, insulating material surrounding said inner liner, means forming a supporting structure for the liner and insulating material and forming as well the outer finish walls for the cabinetysaid means comprising a substantially tubular sheet metal structure having an opening in the front thereof adapted to register with said compartment access opening, said means including a single sheet portion of material formed into an element extending around both front corners of the cabinet and extending continuously across the front of the cabinet and continuously along the two sides of the cabinet and having its ends connected at the rear of the cabinet, sheet metal closure means extending across the tubular structure above and below the insulating material surrounding said liner and forming with the tubular structure a closed chamber, and means forming a hermetic seal for the insulating material within said closed cham- 6. A refrigerator cabinet comprising, an inner liner forming a refrigerating compartment within said cabinet and having an access opening, insulating material surrounding said inner liner, and means forming a supporting structure for the liner and insulating material and forming as well the outer finish walls for the cabinet, said means comprising a substantially tubular sheet metal structure having an opening in one side thereof adapted to register with said compartment access opening and including aone-piece sheet of material formed into an element extending continuously across the side of the cabinet having the access opening therein and continuously along the two adjacent sides of the cabinet.

7. A refrigerator cabinet comprising, an inner liner forming a refrigerating compartment within said cabinet and having an access opening, insulating material surrounding said inner liner, and means forming a supporting structure for the liner and insulating material and forming as well the outer finish walls for the cabinet, said means comprising a substantially tubular sheet metal structure having an opening in one side thereof adapted to register with said compartment access opening and including a one-piece sheet of material formed into an element extending continuously across the side of the cabinet having theaccess opening therein and continuously along other sides of the cabinet and having its ends connected at a side of the cabinet other than the side thereof having the opening therein.

GEORGE F. HOFFERBER'IH. 

